Laptop computers are portable computers that generally operate from either external or portable power sources. Conventional laptop computers typically have a base pivotably connected to a display housing. The base typically includes a primary input device, such as a keyboard, and the display housing typically includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) or other type of display. To access the keyboard and the display, a user positions the base on a surface (e.g., the user's lap or a fixed surface) and pivots the display housing away from the base. To stow and easily transport the computer after use, the user pivots the display housing toward the base and secures the display housing to the base in a stowed configuration.
Conventional laptop computers typically include at least one additional input device to supplement the keyboard. The additional input device may include a roller ball, touch pad, joystick or similar device used to manipulate or move images on the display. In one conventional approach, the additional input device is an integral, permanent component mounted to a central portion of the computer base adjacent to the keyboard. One drawback with this additional input device is that the user may wish to position the device to one side of the base. For example, the user may wish to manipulate the additional input device with the right hand, and may accordingly wish to position the device toward the right side of the base. A further drawback is that the user may wish to detach the additional input device from the base to manipulate the device in a position remote from the computer. For example, where space permits and where the additional input device includes a rotatable ball, the user may wish to place the additional input device on a mouse pad and operate it in a manner similar to the way in which the user might operate the mouse of a conventional desktop computer.
One known approach to address these drawbacks is to removably clip a detachable input device to an edge of the base. One conventional detachable input device has an exposed roller ball positioned in an upper surface, and a spring-loaded clip that fits between the edge of the base and the keyboard to bias the detachable input device against the base. However, this detachable input device suffers from several additional drawbacks. For example, the user typically removes such a detachable input device from the base and stows it separately from the computer because the input device is not protected within the base or display housing when the computer is in the stowed configuration. Such a detachable input device is thus more likely to be misplaced or lost. Furthermore, the user typically needs to couple such a detachable input device to the computer before operation by unpacking the detachable device, attaching it to the base, and connecting a cable between the detachable device and the computer. As such, attaching the detachable input device may be time consuming and difficult to perform in constrained environments where laptop computers are typically used.
Another drawback with conventional detachable input devices is that the detachable devices may not be configured to engage surfaces other than the edge of the base to which they are removably attached. Accordingly, the conventional detachable input devices may be difficult to use unless they are properly secured to the edge of the base. Yet a further drawback with conventional detachable input devices is that it may be difficult to adequately secure them to the base. Accordingly, the detachable devices may be accidentally separated from the base if they are jostled or bumped, requiring the user to take time to reattach the input devices. This drawback is particularly problematic when such detachable input devices are used in airplanes, buses or other cramped and crowded environments where the devices may be easily jostled and where it may be inconvenient to reattach the devices to the computer base.
One conventional approach to address some of the foregoing problems with conventional detachable input devices is to provide the laptop computer with a first additional input device fixed to the computer base and a second additional input device detachable from the base. The second additional input device may be a mouse with a cable that may be removably attached to a communication port on the computer. As discussed above, one drawback with this approach is that the user must attach the second additional input device to the computer before using the second device and must detach the second device before stowing the computer.